1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to devices for hanging window adornments, such as curtains, drapes and shades, and, more particularly, is concerned with an assortment of window adornment mounting brackets.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Window adornments, such as curtains, drapes and shades, have historically been attached to window molding or to the wall located beside the window molding through fastening attaching hardware for the adornments to the window molding or the walls by using nails or screws. Nailing or screwing the attaching hardware to the window molding or to the adjacent wall has the detrimental effect of leaving unsightly holes in molding or wall and, if care is not exercised, can even cause splitting of pieces of the window molding.
A curtain mounting bracket is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,964,604 to Lombard which seeks to overcome these problems. The Lombard mounting bracket is designed to be attachable over an upper corner of the window molding without the use of mounting nails or screws. The Lombard mounting bracket is constructed to have a flat base for positioning against the front face of the window molding corner where one end of the curtain is to be hung and a curtain bracket support hook extending forwardly from the flat base to receive one end of the curtain hanger. The mounting bracket also is constructed to have a pair of top and side bracket support members attached respectively to an upper end and one of the lateral edges of the flat base and extending rearwardly therefrom through distances which match the thickness of the top and side of the window molding. The top and side bracket support members of the mounting bracket further have respective downwardly and inwardly projecting rear ears or prongs on the rear ends thereof. The mounting bracket is installed by, first, placing the top and side bracket support members in alignment with the top and side of the window molding corner, next, driving the mounting bracket laterally toward the corner side until the side prong is fully inserted between the wall and the rear side of the window molding and, finally, driving the mounting bracket downwardly toward the corner top until the top prong is fully inserted between the wall and rear side of the window molding.
The Lombard mounting bracket appears to solve the problem of creating unsightly holes in the window molding and of possibly splitting pieces of the window molding. However, the manner of installing the mounting bracket, as well as the manner of removing the mounting bracket, are likely to cause abrasive rubbing and scratching of the front face of the window molding corner by the rear face of the flat base of the Lombard mounting bracket. This seems to be the case because during installing of the mounting bracket, by driving it first laterally inwardly and then downwardly, the rear face of the flat base is in sliding contact with the front face of the window molding corner. Such sliding contact between the flat base of the mounting bracket and the front face of the molding is more than likely to cause scratching and maring of the front face of the window molding. Further, the Lombard mounting bracket employs a curtain rod hook of a specific design and so does not utilize nor accommodate the different configurations of attaching hardware which are supplied with the various window adornment hanging systems.
Consequently, a need still remains for an improved mounting bracket design which continues to avoid the necessity to make nail or screw holes to attach it, but which at the same time does not introduce or substitute some other blemish-generating contact with the front face of the window molding and is capable of accommodating the different attaching hardware commercially distributed with the various window adornment hanging systems.